Manar Moursi Website
Designed by Manar Moursi. Implemented by Abanoub Atef. This design was a finalist in a competition organized by the Egyptian Furniture Export Council. It was shown in Design Week in Milan in 2014.
Blue-Black
Rivering Together – Publication
Funeral at the Edge of Drought (WIP)
Blue-Black Liver
Rivering Together – Publication
Funeral at the Edge of Drought (WIP)
Rivering Together – Publication
Summer, God, Rain
Rainbow Moon
Mist Me: Me Mist
Two Stones and Heaven is a Fountain in the Garden of Your Veins
Everything That Remains to be Lived
Dismemberment: Night in Mourning
Rivering Together
Palm Beach
A Light, A Loudspeaker, A Tower
The Loudspeaker and the Tower at TSV
The Loudspeaker and the Tower Zine
The Loudspeaker and the Tower at KAG
Mud, Minarets, and Meaningless Events
Stairway to Heaven
Storm Over Cairo  
Mummy Issues Part I: I am not your Mummy
Mummy Issues: Part II: Platanos y Momias
Wonderbox
You can’t Get Blood From A Stone
Bermuda Chairs, In the Sidewalk Salon
Sidewalk Salon: 1001 Street Chairs in Cairo  
Sidewalk Salon at Pikaro  
Sidewalk Salon at Onomatopoee  
Parks Under Siege
My country is not a suitcase, and I am not a traveler 
Kodak Green Oasis
 Transient Utopias
Ladders and Ladders
Making "Sense": In Search of Lost Weather 
Courtyard House
Deliciosa
Evaporative Clay, Palm Crate Canopy Kit
S-Table
Air, Earth, and Sky
Bamiyan Cultural Center
Mapping Cairo
Off The Gireed
Q House
Sand Sedge House
Science City 
Screen House 
Small Talk 
Small Talk Cairo, 213

Cairo's institutional coffeehouses (ahwas) are integral to the city's street life.  Coffeehouses vary in appearance, but their essential elements remain consistent: imitation bentwood Thonet chairs or classic colored monobloc plastic chairs, and tables made of battered tin or wood. The battered tin tables are the taller side tables used for supporting beverages like coffee and tea, while larger, lower tables are used for playing games such as dominoes and backgammon. The taller tables were the inspiration for this series of side tables with varying metallic bases.   

Historically, coffeehouses have functioned as crucial sites for gauging public opinion and political sentiment, with small talk reflecting the everyday exchanges that form the fabric of the city's social life. Ruling authorities have long used informants in cafés to monitor public moods, acting as political thermometers. This significant public and political context inspired me to focus on one of the key elements of the coffeehouse: the table around which patrons gather for small talk and discussions. The first table in the series features a metallic base with three yellow curved legs, creating a contrast with its white hexagonal top. The second table has thin, curved legs forming an ornate structure. Its blue base is paired with a square white top. The third table’s base is composed of three light pink curved metal legs that connect with crossbars for added stability. The curvature in the base is complemented by the table’s curved, rounded white top. Together, the three tables in the series reference classical Egyptian coffeehouse tables in their form, color, and materiality while offering a contemporary interpretation. Incorporating the essence of Cairo's ahwas into modern design, "Small Talk," pays homage to the pivotal role these coffeehouses play in fostering community and conversation.



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